Sherlock Holmes at Hogwarts.

Chapter 106 A big game of chess

As Sherlock cast an explosive spell, the white king fell down and exploded into pieces.

"Well done, Sherlock!"

Hermione couldn't help but cheer.

Her face flushed with excitement. "If Professor Flitwick saw this, he would definitely give Gryffindor five points!"

I can only say that it is worthy of Hermione. Even in this situation, she did not forget to add points.

However, just as she finished her words, something strange happened.

The chess pieces that were knocked down by Sherlock's blasting curse were like the T-1000 liquid robots in the Terminator, slowly wriggling on the ground and gathering together.

In a short while, they stood up again from the fragments and finally returned to their original state.

Seeing this situation, several people couldn't help but look at each other.

Sherlock thought for a moment, then laughed:
"At this moment I do miss Mr. Finnigan."

Obviously, Sherlock thought that if he and Hermione had the cooperation of the explosive genius Seamus Finnigan, they might be able to blow up all the chess pieces before they were restored.

It's a pity he's not here.

Although Harry and Ron had two people, their attainments in Charms, especially Explosive Spells, were limited, and their destruction speed could not match the recovery speed of the white chess pieces.

Fortunately, Ron is a good wizard at chess and can be considered a strong ally.

Sherlock looked at Ron, who understood immediately.

"I'll be the knight."

Ron said without hesitation.

Although the knight's piece value in Wizard chess is only three points, it is one of the few pieces that can attack beyond the board, which is just right for him to play.

Sherlock had no objection to this. He looked at the remaining Harry and Hermione:

"Harry for the castle, Hermione for the bishop."

These two had limited chess skills, so Sherlock made arrangements for them directly.

"how about you?"

Hermione couldn't help but ask.

"I will be the queen."

Hearing Sherlock's words, Ron's eyes first flashed with surprise, and then filled with excitement.

This situation is stable!

Oddly enough, it was as if the pieces were waiting for them to make a decision.

As soon as Sherlock finished speaking, the queen on the black side, as well as the castle, bishop, and knight next to the queen turned around and walked off the chessboard with their backs to the white pieces.

The four empty seats were naturally reserved for Sherlock and his three companions.

Ron rode on the black warhorse, looked around proudly, and was full of fighting spirit.

At this moment, he seemed to have become a real knight.

Suppressing the excitement in my heart, I tried to look towards the opposite side:

"The custom in Wizard Chess is for White to go first."

As soon as he finished speaking, a white soldier moved forward two steps.

"A pretty standard opening, isn't it?"

Sherlock smiled and looked at Ron.

Ron nodded, took a deep breath, and then began to command the chess pieces on his side to fight.

He had never seen Sherlock play wizard chess.

But just looking at Mr. Holmes' chess skills, which were comparable to his own, and considering Sherlock's wisdom, Ron concluded that Sherlock would be a great teammate.

What's more, Shylock chose the queen.

This is confidence!
It is a real pleasure to fight alongside such teammates.

Next, Sherlock commanded Hermione and Ron commanded Harry, and the two of them worked together to deploy their troops and start a battle with the white chess piece.

"Hermione, right front, take five steps diagonally upward."

"Harry, four steps straight ahead."

"Hermione, step back left to me, two steps."

"Harry, three steps to the left."

At the beginning, both sides followed the procedures and took cautious steps, and everything went peacefully.

Thanks to the presence of two high-level players, Sherlock and Ron, this stage passed quickly and it didn't take long to reach the middle game.

When one of the black pawns was captured, the white queen rushed over from a distance.

Under the surprised gazes of several people, she threw a fierce punch and knocked the soldier to the ground.

Then he exerted force and threw it out of the chessboard with ease.

"hiss……"

Harry and Hermione gasped.

Harry's knees were even shaking. What if he was eaten?

Although Ron was somewhat shocked, his emotions were much less volatile than Harry's. He said helplessly:
"There's no other way. This is the only way I can eat the bishop."

He looked at Sherlock after he said this.

Sherlock's expression remained unchanged. He placed his chin on his hands and uttered two words: "Interesting."

Soon, the black and white pieces began to fall one after another.

Sherlock and Ron were rampaging across the chessboard, capturing more white pieces than the black pieces they had fallen.

Especially Sherlock.

If Ron was killing it, then Sherlock could be said to be dominating the game.

This is also reasonable.

Anyone who plays chess regularly knows that although the king's checkmate represents the failure of the entire game, the queen is the most powerful piece on the board.

The queen can not only move straight, sideways, and diagonally, but also has no restrictions on the number of squares. Except for not being able to jump over other pieces, she can move freely.

Although the number of squares that the bishop and the castle can move is not restricted, one can only move diagonally and the other can only move horizontally or vertically. It can be said that the two together are equivalent to the queen.

The knight played by Ron is quite special.

Although there is a limit on the number of squares it can move in and it can only move in a sun-shaped pattern, it can jump over other pieces, which is unmatched by other pieces.

Of course, the castle played by Harry can also jump over the pieces by "castling", but it seems unnecessary at the moment.

Finally, the game reached the endgame stage.

Thanks to Sherlock and Ron's combined efforts, Black had already gained a huge advantage. The Queen, Bishop, Castle, and Knight, played by four players, were of course completely unscathed.

More importantly, the black king is now located in the upper right corner of the giant chessboard, protected by two black soldiers in front, and on the left is the castle represented by Harry, which can be said to be impregnable.

On the other hand, the White King's kingside is wide open.

The left side was controlled by Harry's castle, the routes above and to the right were blocked by Hermione's bishop, and Ron's knights were ready to move not far away.

More importantly, the opponent's white queen was firmly restrained by Sherlock, and could not play the role of the strongest combat piece in wizard chess.

It can be said that at this point, basically no matter how you move, you will be able to kill the white chess piece in a dozen moves.

Harry...oh no, Hermione is fine.

Harry and Hermione had also realized that the current situation was one of many versus few, and the advantage was in their favor.

There was a glint of excitement in both of their eyes.

Instead, Sherlock and Ron remained silent.

They didn't come here just to play chess.

Although Sherlock and Ron were already very fast, at this moment there was no fastest, only the fastest.

Seeing Ron riding on the black warhorse with a conflicted look on his face, Harry, who was not far away from him, felt a little strange.

"Ron?"

He couldn't help shouting.

"Let me think about it...let me think about it..."

Ron lowered his head and said, "It's almost there, it's almost there..."

Harry didn't understand what was going on and could only look to Sherlock for help.

Sherlock said nothing.

Of course he knew what Ron was thinking.

In fact, he was also waiting for Ron to make a decision.

Just then the White Queen turned her featureless face towards Ron.

This action immediately made Ron make up his mind.

He jerked his head up. "Please, Sherlock!"

Sherlock raised his brows. "Have you decided?"

Seeing Ron nod, Sherlock said without hesitation: "Let's do it!"

At the same time, he said to Harry and Hermione, "Stand still!"

The conversation between the two left Harry and Hermione confused. They had no idea what the two brothers were doing.

The answer was quickly revealed.

Ron walked sideways to the edge of the chessboard.

"General!"

Almost at the same time, the White Queen pounced from the other side of the chessboard, just like she had done several times before.

She raised her stone arm and punched Ron hard on the head.

Ron fell to the ground without any suspense, and then like the other black pieces that were eaten, he was dragged up by the White Queen and thrown out of the chessboard.

"Do not--!"

Harry was stunned, and Hermione couldn't help but scream.

But she did not leave her grid - Sherlock's reminder was still ringing in her ears, and reason prevailed at this moment.

Now that Ron has made his choice, he must not act on his emotions and fail.

The next moment, Sherlock flew forward without any delay and rushed to the White King when the White Queen was lured away.

"Checkmate!"

The White King took off the crown from his head and threw it at Shylock's feet.

After all, the game was won in advance.

The white chess pieces bowed and stepped back, making way so that they could walk towards the door smoothly.

Sherlock stepped forward without hesitation.

Harry and Hermione gave Ron one last sad look back, then followed Sherlock through the door and down the next corridor.

At this moment, even without Sherlock's explanation, the two of them already understood what had just happened.

The giant chess pieces that Professor McGonagall had transformed took time to move, and when combined with the action of capturing the opponent's pieces, it could sometimes take up to more than ten seconds.

Although Black now has an absolute advantage, if the process of killing White can be shortened from more than ten steps to three steps, the efficiency will obviously be greatly improved.

But the prerequisite for doing so is to sacrifice a chess piece.

It would be fine if they weren't just pawns.

But looking back now, the reality of the endgame is that if we want to win as quickly as possible, we must either sacrifice Harry's castle or Ron's knight.

That's why Ron was so conflicted.

Sherlock would also confirm with Ron again after he made his decision.

I have to say that Sherlock's performance just now was so rational that it was a bit cold-blooded.

But that is the most correct choice.

But even though we understand it, it is still difficult to accept it.

Hermione looked at Sherlock's silence and couldn't help but trot over to his side.
"Sherlock, don't worry, Ron will be fine."

Sherlock gave her a strange look. "I'm not worried about him. He just took a punch. Judging from the force and his physical condition, he'll wake up soon."

"Then why haven't you said anything..."

"I'm thinking about what method I should use next to deal with the trolls that Quirrell has arranged."

Sherlock said calmly.

Hermione: (╬◣д◢)

I should have known better, how could this person possibly feel guilty?
Even the idea just now was thought up by him and Ron together!
I'm really worrying about nothing.

But even Sherlock didn't expect that he wouldn't have to find a way to deal with the trolls arranged by Quirrell.

Just as he pushed open the door and stepped into the next room.

The stench was overwhelming.

However, the giant monster that emitted this smell was lying on the ground, unconscious.

(End of this chapter)